Ansan Greeners Asks Asnawi Mangkualam To Hold On

Asnawi Mangkualam Bahar (@asnawi_bhr)

JAKARTA - Korean League 2 club Ansan Greeners is determined to keep Indonesian national team defender Asnawi Mangkualam ahead of his contract ending. Ansan Greeners wants the player to stay and continue his career in South Korea.

Asnawi's contract with Ansan Greeners starts on January 19, 2021, with a duration of one year. If referring to the calendar, the player's tenure will end in mid-January.

However, quoted from South Korean media, Footballist, Asnawi still has the option of one year extension in his contract with the club nicknamed The Green Wolves. This is a moment that the club will likely take advantage of in order to establish a longer cooperation with Asnawi.

The same source also explained that Asnawi's presence was eagerly awaited by Ansan's new coach, Jo Min Guk. He also wants the 22-year-old to stay at Ansan Stadium.

"Ansan's coach Jo Min Guk, who took office as the new coach in November last year, said he greatly values Asnawi and suggested that he also stay in Ansan this year," the report said.

In fact, Asnawi became the first Southeast Asian player to be recruited by Ansan after the regulations for permission to recruit players from ASEAN countries emerged. Together with Ansan, Asnawi didn't have much playing time because he had been called up to the Indonesian national team and had been injured before.

For almost a year with Ansan Greeners, Asnawi has only appeared in 14 matches and contributed one assist. But despite the lack of appearances, his slick performance on the field made Asnawi included in the ranks of the 11 best players in the April edition.

Ansan Greeners' desire to keep Asnawi is also because he feels that the player has the potential to develop even better in the Korean League 2. This desire became even stronger after watching Asnawi's performance when he defended the Indonesian national team in the 2020 AFF Cup.

Through Asnawi's appearance in the 2020 AFF Cup, Jo Min Guk reportedly wants to push Asnawi's playing position further to build Ansan's attack. This is because, under the tutelage of Shin Tae-yong, Asnawi has succeeded in realizing the coach's tactics to play as a right-back who can defend and attack equally well.